1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to information ID-cards and may be used for cashless payments, e.g., in credit bank operations, in stores, in public transport, etc.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
This invention is in development of the technical solution according to RF U.S. Pat. No. 2,244,634, C1, IPC B42D15/10, published on 20 Jan. 2005, “PAYMENT V.I.P. CARD (VARIANTS)”.
One of the variants of the known invention is that wherein a pay card comprising a housing, a microprocessor device, elements of features of a pay system and an issuing bank, protection and personalization, wherein the housing of the said pay card is made of a precious or rare metal, the said elements of the features of a pay system and an issuing bank, protection and personalization being made of precious and/or semi-precious stones (RU, C1, 2244634).
The known device uses gold, and/or platinum, and/or silver as the precious metal. Brilliants, and/or sapphires, and or emeralds, and/or similar stones are used as precious stones. Nephrite, and/or lazurite, and/or chalcedony, and/or stones similar to them are used as semi-precious stones. Furthermore, the elements of the features relating to a pay system and an issuing bank, protection and personalization may be made engraved, and/or inlaid, and/or threaded, and/or electroformed.
A limitation of this device is high consumption of precious metals which the pay card housing is made of. Moreover, information for this card may not be entered and read out remotely, since no means are provided for this operation; and if this very design is used, such means may not be implemented without altering International Standards ISO 7816, ISO 1443. This device may not employ the modern technology of NFC (Near Field Communication), that is, the technology of short-range RF wireless communication that enables data exchanges between devices being at a distance of about 10 centimeters (app. 4 inches). A NFC device may communicate with existing smart-cards, readers according to ISO Standard 1443 and with other NFC devices, and, thus, is compatible to the existing infrastructure of contactless cards already used in public transport and pay systems.
The least consumption of a precious metal is realized in a pay card that comprises a foil layer, a first layer and a second layer, which are laminated, the foil layer being secured between the first layer and the outer second layer. The device further comprises a plastic sheet, a magnetic strip, an adhesive layer, and an insert that has a thickness greater than that of the foil layer and is made of the same material as the foil layer, and a decorative element that is secured inside the insert flush therewith. The outer surfaces of the second layer and the insert are situated on the same plane, and the insert and the decorative element are free of the second layer on the outside and are secured in the plastic sheet by the adhesive layer. The foil layer length and width are selected so as to be less than those of the plastic sheet. (WO 2011/081563, A1, publ. 07.07.2011), (RU, No. 96525, U1, publ. 10.08.2010).
The foil layer in this technical solution may be made of a noble (precious) metal. The decorative element may be made of a natural, or precious, or semi-precious stone.
This device has no means for data inputting to and reading from the pay card remotely (i.e., NFC). Moreover, the use of the first and the second laminating layers impairs the visual appearance of the foil layer, if the latter is made of a noble metal.
The closest solution is a contactless chip card comprising a flat card, primarily of rectangular shape, a IC chip, a dielectric substrate with the IC chip installed thereon, an antenna made of an electric conductor that is arranged along the periphery of the flat card plane and connected by contact conductors to the IC chip. (JP, A, 11-219420).
The device represents a laminated plastic card (“smart-card”), wherein the antenna is made in the form of a multiturn coil.
A microprocessor having memory (electronic chip) may be used as the IC chip. Due to the availability of an antenna, these types of devices may communicate with a remote reading device. The antenna not only performs the function of a communication means, but also may be used for obtaining energy necessary for powering the electronic chip. Such devices—chip cards—are presently used as a means of payments for goods bought at a purchase place (these are known as “bank cards”), for calls made from public phones, for car parking, for travels in public transport, etc. Such devices are also embedded into mobile phones and labels.
But such chip cards are “faceless” per se, since the feature elements relating to a pay system and an issuing bank, protection and personalization are introduced directly into the IC memory, and, if such features become known to a stranger, a malefactor can use such cards easily. Furthermore, such plastic cards are not sufficiently reliable, their service life is limited due to the possibility of mechanical damage.
Conventional pay cards of various pay systems have, due to their mass production, an insufficient set of features providing for individual preferences of their holders, including the requirements of uniqueness, protection, art design, etc., as stated in Specification to RU, C1, 2244634.
There has always existed a category of clients, where each client would like to get even more attention from banks, originality, good showing and attention to his/her person, as well as the uniqueness of a pay instrument evidencing a definite social status. And such VIP-clients provide banks with a significant part of income.
The task of expanding the set of technical means and creating a pay tool complying with wishes of bank privileges clients is, in principle, solved by RU, C1, 2244634, but such cards are not remotely operated and require high consumption of noble metals.
This task is absolutely not complied with by a chip card known from JP, A, 11-219420, which is intended for mass production and which does not comprise any noble metals.